Letters Home
by Akaoni
Summary: An odd package arrives for Tifa. - Hopefully I will continue to update this as and when I have time. Please read and rate. Cloti, Cloud & Tifa. Possible future fluff. I'm not the best proof reader in the world, so I am sorry.
1. Chapter 1

**Letters Home **

**Part 1**

* * *

**Shinra Electric Power Company**

Shinra Mailing Service

December εуλ 0002.

Dear T. Lockhart

It is with deepest regrets we are contacting you to inform you that Infantryman Strife. C has been officially reported as MISSING IN ACTION as of November 0002.

Shinra Electric Power Company

Department of Military Affairs and Company Security

* * *

**Shinra Electric Power Company**

Shinra Mailing Service

December εуλ 0004

Dear T. Lockhart

Further to our correspondence of December 0002 we regretfully inform you that Infantryman Strife. C status of MISSING IN ACTION has been re-designated to that of MISSING IN ACTION PRESUMED DEAD. As such under article 2471 of the repatriation of personal items act, all remaining personal items are being returned to the designated next of kin.

Shinra Electric Power Company

Department of Military Affairs and Company Security

* * *

Its almost funny in retrospect how a system such as this had continued to work. Tifa could not help but grin wryly. She knew what had happened to Cloud, she knew the truth about the events of that terrible day in Nibelheim but it would seem as a part of Shinra's almost obsessive nature to officialise everything, someone, somewhere along the chain of command had posted Cloud as missing in action. She had no doubt that when Professor Hojo took Cloud and Zack and made them his personal test subjects he would have wanted no trace of them remaining. But it seems he didn't count on one of Shinra's many automated systems picking up on a small detail such as the status of a single Shinra infantryman.

She sat down in a corner booth in the 7th Heaven and examined the contents of this mornings post closer. The bar wasn't open yet and with Denzel and Marlene at school and Cloud working she was alone. She tried to make sense of it in her head, it was logical such a letter had never been sent to Zack's parents, members of SOLDIER probably had some kind of secret waver they signed when joining, yet Cloud, an infantryman that never truly made it to SOLDIER must have remained on some database, deep within Shinra's archives. She tried to imagine how it must have come about, no doubt the Turks or some other poor Shinra official under instruction of Hojo had flagged Zack and Cloud as MIA . Why not KIA? Killed in Action would suggest just that, there had been action, Shinra was trying to cover up anything ever happened at Nibelheim. MIA could have been due to any number of reasons, this would have legitimised their disappearance and nothing else was thought of it. Indeed, in Zack's case nothing, it would seem, had happened. Yet with Cloud, upon being made MIA a light flashed somewhere in Shinra's computer system, the automation took over, the computer must have searched the database to find his sign up papers. Within those papers would be his next of kin, the system would create an automated notice such as what she had just read. Then for two years nothing, nothing had happened. It seemed certain that MIA cases were given a period of grace, time to ascertain the truth whether the person was truly MIA or dead. Then at the end of those two years the system comes back to life, with no updates being made it assumes the person is dead and creates another notice. Again she grinned wryly.

She thought to herself, eventually someone would have realised and rectified the problem. Most likely removing any trace of Cloud from all Shinra systems, it must have been the following Meteor fall and the resulting chaos that gave this snippet of Clouds past a chance to continue to exist.

So why now? Why had this bundle of letters landed on their doorstep all these years later. She sat back into the booth and mused at the thought. Ah! It came back to her, a few weeks previous the television had been on in the background in the bar like always. The patrons, many of whom did not own their own enjoyed having it on whilst relaxing with drinks. That night in particular she remembered the news report. The remnants of Shinra under direction of the World Regenesis Organisation, as a sign of goodwill and changing attitude, had realised countless scores of men and women had died in the line of service around the time of Meteor fall and there after, there for they were using their full resources to locate information regarding loses and inform all next of kin of the status of their loved ones. The report had been met with jeers and shouts of "too little too late!" from the patrons but she thought at least Rufus was trying.

The remnants of Shinra and WRO must have retrieved the surviving databases and any remaining letters from Midgar and who knows where and set about reactivating the system. With the use of the Worldwide network they could get access to local census records, something made mandatory by the WRO after Geostigma to help distribute aid, to retrieve the most up to date addresses and re-send these letters to the designated next of kin. Most likely no one checked who these letters were actually going to personally as it would take too many working hours, simply relying on the system and getting them delivered like any other mail. Maybe even Cloud had been delivering these to some of the more far-flung locations?

She looked at the two original Shinra letters, the mailing stamps and dates confirmed what she thought, it seemed they had made their way to Nibelheim via Junon and Costa Del Sol only to be returned to sender in Midgar. It seems Shinra never informed the new occupants of Nibelheim of who the original occupants were otherwise this little issue would have been nipped in the bud years ago. They must have sat stored away, somehow surviving the near end of the world until recently when this new initiative started. But still there was one thing she did not understand.

"Why am I Clouds next of kin?" she whispered.

She moved the Shinra letters aside and looked at the stack of letters. Her stomach tied into a knot, the first one on the top of the pile was addressed to her but there were no mailing marks. She looked at the next, it was the same, it had slight water damage but there was no mailing marks, it was the same for the next and the next and next until she reached the bottom of the pile. They were all addressed to her, but none of them had been actually sent. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, looking up to the ceiling where a fan was lazily turning. She closed her eyes, moved her head back towards the table and opened them again.

She began to open the first letter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note to Readers:**

Thank you for the feed back so far. This is the first creative writing Ive done for a long time, I'm worried years of university essays have made my writing 'stiff'. I knew the first few letters would be hard to write. Trying to get into the mind of a 14 year old Cloud is hard to tell the truth. There is not much source material to go on so I guess its more a case of taking what little I know of his childhood and combining that with the feelings of any young boy who has just joined the military. A reviewer did point out this chapter maybe a little confusing, my apologies for that.

* * *

**Letters Home **

**Part 2  
**

Tifa gently used her nail to pry open the envelope. The glue had lost its strength over the years and it opened with little resistance. She carefully took the folded paper out and opened it up. A small photo card flopped out onto the table, she resisted the urge to examine the picture instead concentrating on the letter. She recognised Cloud's handwriting, she had spent enough time checking his invoices in recent months to know it was his.

* * *

_February εуλ 0001 _

_Tifa_

_Are you ok? How are things in Nibelheim? To be honest I did not plan to write, not even to my mother, but the guys in the barracks all seem to think I'm odd because I don't write to anybody. Am I odd? As soon as we get some spare time before lights out they all gamble or write home. I'm not very good at either. I'm not sure how much I am allowed to say, some of the other recruits say Shinra checks all out going mail. Maybe I should tell you what has happened since I left?_ …...

* * *

"Al right ladies off the truck now" the drill instructor barked.

His order was met with groans of protest.

"What do you think this is? A Shinra funded day trip? Get your backsides into gear and form a line NOW!" his voice had gone from a bark to an out right scream.

The recruits quickly grabbed their belongings and started clambering down from the trucks into the courtyard. Cloud picked up his small duffel bag and followed suit. His legs were like jelly and his stomach felt like it was still in the middle of the western ocean, probably somewhere off the coast of Costa Del Sol. He stopped at the open tail gate and took a moment to try and steady himself. _Why am I the only one who got this sick?_

"Strife!, get your golden locks off that truck now otherwise I'm transferring you to the marines!"

Clouds motion sickness had been a great source of laughter, especially to the DI, particularly during the rough crossing to Junon. The thought of spending the next god knows how many years cramped on some Shinra tub sailing around Gaia throwing his guts up didn't sound to appealing. He double timed off the truck and joined the end of the first line.

Clouds senses were being bombarded. It was early evening in Midgar, the sounds of city life were louder than anything he had experienced before, the glow of the city lights gave the scene an odd industrial beauty, the smell was intense. Sometimes in Nibelheim if the wind was blowing in from the mountains there was indescribable yet distinct smell, the towns folk had all said it was the smell of Mako. It was like that but stronger, his nose and throat were tingling as a result. In the distance his could make out what looked like a reactor, but bigger and far more advance than the one at home. Even with the lingering motion sickness and his senses reeling he could feel excitement taking over. _I'm finally here._

The DI surveyed the rag-tag bunch of men. _Men? HA! Most of them were still teenagers!_ He smiled a knowing smile, being born and raised on the Northern continent even he remembered his first time in the city.

"Welcome to Midgar, this will be your home for the next few months, if you are good enough you will leave as men"

* * *

…_. After signing up they sent us to Midgar, they said to be in SOLDIER you must pass basic infantry training. I got sick on the ship from Costa Del Sol to Junon and again on the road to Midgar. I didn't know I suffered from motion sickness this bad. Midgar is huge, I've never seen anything like this. The city never seems to sleep, there is always people out, cars, trucks, movement and sound, I think you would like it._

_The training so far has not been that hard, as long as you remember to say 'Sir' after everything, keep your things tidy and don't answer back it's not that bad. The drill instructor likes to give everyone a hard time, always reminding us that with out Shinra we would be nothing, without Mako reactors our towns would be nothing and now we owe our lives as a debt of gratitude. I know what I'm really training for. There is only a few more weeks to go and when I graduate I will apply for SOLDIER selection. _

_Its time for lights out, I guess I'll write again soon._

_Cloud_

* * *

Tifa couldn't help but smile. She could almost see Cloud awkwardly rubbing his head between writing sentences. He certainly wouldn't be writing the next LOVELESS, that was for sure. Maybe he had been lonely in the barracks? I mean he was only what? 14? Or perhaps he had just given into peer pressure and wrote something to someone to get the other recruits off his back? It was hard to tell whether this was typical Cloud or not, she had to remind herself that she didn't know him as well as she thought back then.

She refolded the letter and placed it back in the envelope, picking up the photo and studied it. It was Midgar alight. Scrawled across the top proudly in a typical Shinra propaganda like style was "Midgar – light of the East", how ironic considering the slum folk lived in perpetual darkness. No doubt it was in reference to Shinra's light producing Mako energy. Pah! She cast those thoughts aside, Midgar was no longer an issue. She looked again at the photo, it was an aerial shot, taking in the full scope of the city, she was sure her teenage self would have been impressed with it.

Placing the photo back in its envelop she took the second letter from the pile.


End file.
